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Spotlight on members
From hospital funding to FDA approval
Spark Therapeutics develops gene therapy for inherited retinal blindness
After over two decades of research and development in gene therapy, Katherine A. High, MD, co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Spark Therapeutics, is breathing a big sigh of relief this fall. On Oct. 12, the Food and Drug Administration unanimously voted to approve voretigene neparvovec, Spark Therapeutics' gene therapy treatment for inherited b

ARVO Foundation
Advancing science and careers
Genentech AMD Research Fellowship recipients share their progress
The Genentech Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Research Fellowships are awarded annually through the ARVO Foundation. The award supports two research fellowships for young investigators who are age 45 or younger, including one award for basic research in the understanding of AMD and one for translational AMD research focusing on therapeutics (not yet in clinical trials).
The

ARVO Foundation
ARVO Foundation welcomes new chair Paul Sternberg, Jr.
Paul Sternberg, Jr., MD, FARVO, will take the helm of the ARVO Foundation as chair of the Board of Governors in April. Sternberg has served as a Governor since 2014 and is a past ARVO Trustee representing the Retina Section.
Sternberg is the G. W. Hale Professor of Ophthalmology at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute and chief medical officer and chief patient experience officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashvil

Spotlight on members
ONL Therapeutics: More than a one-shot wonder
It’s a classic story: scientist discovers a compound with real therapeutic potential, only to have no idea how to move forward. Fortunately for David Zacks, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, help was waiting on campus. Guided by the university’s technology transfer office, ONL Therapeutics was incorporated. And with Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR

5 members in 5 minutes
Sharing vision research with new audiences
Last year, ARVO launched its one-year Science Communication Training Fellowship (SciCommTF) program to train Members-in-Training from the U.S and outside the U.S. to become more effective communicators of vision research to various audiences. As one of their requirements, each fellow is responsible for developing and implementing an advocacy or outreach activity. Are you thinking about how you can share your research with patie

Trending topics
Image interpretation: The next hurdle
Once upon a time, our ability to image the eye and its structures was not very good. Fundus images were low resolution, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was limited in depth and dimensions and fluorescein angiography was still considered an effective method to image the vascular system despite its laborious and qualitative nature.
Then came the 21st Century. Fundus images saw dramatic improvements in quality and clinical value. OCT ad

Advocacy and outreach
ARVO study proves vision research investment saves billions
Taking a new step in its mission to increase funding for vision research, ARVO coauthored its first peer-reviewed paper, which quantifies how millions of dollars of investment in developing optical coherence tomography (OCT) has generated billions of dollars in savings for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and government-funded healthcare programs
The paper, which was made open access

NEI director's message
50 Years of federally-funded vision research
Paul A. Sieving, MD, PhD, FARVO
Congress created the National Eye Institute in 1968, making vison a top health priority. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary with events scheduled throughout the year, we look back at the amazing progress made possible by federally-funded vision research.
NEI funding of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has led to major public health improvements. For example, in the 1960s, about half of

Spotlight on members
Global mentors and mentees talk relationship building
ARVO’s Global Mentorship Program is a virtual program that supports early career members through monthly, guided topics related to non-scientific career development, general work-life balance and steps to actively engage with ARVO. The program pairs Members-in-Training and junior principal investigators with senior-level members in a six-month cohort. The first 2018 cohort is now underway, with applications still being

ARVO Foundation
Chew to spotlight reproducibility in science at the 10th Annual WEAVR Luncheon
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the ARVO Foundation’s Women in Eye and Vision Research (WEAVR) Luncheon, which is held annually in conjunction with the ARVO Annual Meeting. ARVO Immediate Past President Emily Y. Chew, MD, FARVO, will be the featured speaker at the luncheon on Tuesday, May 1 from 1:30 – 3pm at the Ala Moana hotel in Honolulu. The annual networking event raises funds to suppor